Honey, I shrunk the division lead: While We’re Waiting
July 22, 2019Carmen’s Crew advances to Elite Eight of The Basketball Tournament
July 22, 2019The 2019 Cleveland Browns season is almost upon us with just a few days until the team hits Berea to start training camp. The Browns have had a very busy, exciting and newsworthy offseason. It saw the team make some big roster shaking moves, which has, in turn, catapulted the hopes and excitement of Browns fans into all new heights since the return of the franchise in 1999.
We have been getting you ready for the start of the 2019 season by examining each of the Browns’ position groups. The next position under the microscope is the Browns wide receivers unit.
2019 Browns Positional Preview Series: Quarterbacks, Running Backs and Tight Ends
Biggest Strength
Depth
The Browns wide receivers unit has become one of the deeper positions on the team. With the addition of Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns receiver position became a more complete unit. Beckham is the star of the position, but the group also has an experienced productive receiver in Jarvis Landry. Behind those two, Rashard Higgins and Antonio Callaway are two young receivers who showed a lot of great promise last season. The team should have a depth chart of four really good receiving options at the top of the chart. Behind these four, the team has a bunch of young players with intriguing skillsets.
Biggest Weakness
Experience and history of production in the back half of the depth chart
The Browns depth chart, all be it deep with talent, lacks the experience in the back half of the depth chart. Behind Beckham and Landry, the position is filled with young receivers, who have either just a few actual games played or who are in their first or second years of their NFL career. So, sustained production is not there with these young players. The Browns will be relying on players who are still developing and have not shown consistency as of yet. With this youthfulness and inexperience, this may cause there to be growing pains with the receivers behind Beckham and Landry.
Key Player
Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham is in the running for the consideration of being the best receiver in the entire NFL. So, there is no more important player in the receiver corps than Beckham. His presence on the field makes the entire offense better. As a player, he has incredible hands, making him a reliable receiver for Mayfield. He is a really good athlete, but he does the little things well, too, like route running. He is a playmaker, who can change the game with one play. His importance to the unit is also felt by how he causes defenses to defend him. He takes so much attention that it opens up one-on-one coverage for the rest of the unit. So, he can make the rest of the receivers on the field better by just his presence on the field.
Key Loss
Breshad Perriman
As the season went on last year, Breshad Perriman became one of the big play receivers for the Browns offense. He had the highest yards per catch average on the team, with 21.3 yards per catch. He seemed to really click last year and become the receiver many thought he would be when he was drafted. So, the Browns lost a receiver, who was productive for them last season. But, this loss means nothing now. The Browns replaced Perriman with a top-five overall receiver in Beckham. So, even though Perriman was good for the Browns last season, his absence will be minimal at best given who the Browns replaced him with this offseason.
Under-the-Radar Player to Watch
Rashard Higgins
Higgins maybe Baker Mayfield’s favorite receiver on the roster. The two had a great connection throughout the season. According to Pro Football Focus, Mayfield had a 122.3 passer rating when targeting Higgins. The young receiver is entering his fourth season in the NFL, coming off his best season in the NFL. He is a candidate to be a breakout star for the Browns offense given his production uptick last season and his connection with Mayfield. With all of the talent on the offense, Higgins may be overlooked by defenses, giving him an opportunity to produce in a big way. His stock is going up.
Top Training Camp Battle
Fifth & Sixth Receivers
The biggest battles in the receivers unit are the battles for the fifth and sixth spots on the depth chart. The two receivers at the forefront of this battle should be Derrick Willies and Damion Ratley. Ratley is probably the safest bet to make the squad given his status as a Dorsey pick, but Willies showed in brief appearance last season that he could be a keeper. The players fighting with these two receivers are either undrafted free agents or young receivers in their first three years of the NFL. The player who intrigues me the most in this group is Jaelen Strong, who came into the league as a third-round pick by the Houston Texans. He has shown some production in his career that gives the Browns the thought that they could get something out of the still youthful receiver.
Outlook
The Browns wide receivers unit is the position I am most excited for this coming season. The excitement is rooted in the acquisition of Beckham and how he affects the whole group. Beckham changes the whole offense. As I stated earlier, he is a game-changer on the field. The Browns finally have a No. 1 receiver. As I stated at the end of last season, the unit needed a No. 1 receiver to complete the unit and put the rest of the group in their more suitable roles. Beckham does this. With the former Giant as the top receiver, the rest of the unit will not see the attention that they received last year because Beckham will be taking the attention of the defense. This opens up opportunities for Landry, Callaway, and Higgins. That is why I expect the best years of their career this coming season.
The Browns wide receiver is not a finished product because of the youth on the squad. Consistency will be key to the development of Callaway and Higgins. Both showed a lot of promise last season, but they will need to show it for all 16 games (and hopefully more than that). If they progress off of last season, this unit will be considered one of the best in the league, if not the best. I believe we will see them flourish and turn into a great unit. I am really interested to see who shows out behind the top four on the depth chart. Something tells me that Ratley is a player to keep an eye on to make a bigger impact than expected. But, as I said, this unit will be driven by Beckham and moved by Landry, Callaway, and Higgins.